Based on the analytical results of the present study, the possible impact of socioeconomic variables and Belk’s situational factors on tourist expenditure was characterized for Taiwan inbound regular and conference tourists. First, the assumption that conference tourists spend more money than general tourists was not confirmed. Thus, there is an untapped reservoir for the tourist industry to pursue. Second, an inference can be drawn that financial support is the most important factor distinguishing spending power of conference and regular tourists. Income, however, is not a crucial determinant, because the disposable budget is the key for tourism-related expenses. Third, both regular tourists and conference tourists used only a small proportion of their expenditures on entertainment. This reveals a lack of awareness regarding the abundance of available tourism attractions or related arts activities at the destination. Tourism development needs to promote a greater variety of cultural activities to capture the interest of visitors. Regular tourists will fund all expenses by themselves, while meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions (MICE) visitors are typically reimbursed for all conference-related expenses, including travel. Most of the meals and services for conference tourists are inclusive in their prepaid registration fees, which have created certain amount of economic impact to the destination. However, other than prepaid core consumption in the conference, conference tourists will spend extra money on meals shopping and entertainment for the extended stay. Nevertheless, it was surprisingly noted that only a modest difference exists for the two categories of visitors with respect to optional spending. It is necessary to find out the reason why Taiwan cannot attract more conference tourist spending, since conference tourists visiting other countries usually spend more than regular tourists. This study’s findings have shown that this is not the case for the conference tourism in Taiwan. Conference tourists would surely want to enrich their travel experience in Taiwan by activities outside their conference goals and would most likely be willing to pay for such expenditures out of pocket if the tourism information was well distributed or a certain promotion was provided before traveling to the conference. Clearly, the results here did not reflect this to be the case, and it can only be speculated with possible reasons to assess the situation. Downloaded by [110.77.215.176] at 20:39 18 March 2015 306 S.-T. Wang and Y.-S. Lee First of all, many conference tourists are under a time constraint. They come to the meeting, attend the scheduled items on the agenda, and leave promptly afterward. Also, many of them view a conference as a strictly professional event, for which they have come alone. Would such delegates consider staying longer if they were encouraged to bring family or partners? Results show time constraint to be the dominant limiting factor for conference tourists and that there is room for growth in convention tourism, if these constraints are properly managed. A number of public relation actions are suggested to help meet this goal.
• Invite delegates upon registration to stay longer at reduced cost of accommodation.
• Arrange for daycare for accompanying children.
• Prepare different sightseeing packages for groups of delegates with reduced admission fees.
• Arrange for guided tours to concerts, museums, and sports events at discounted admission fees.
• Set up booths from the local specialty suppliers for conference tourists’ easy shopping and pick up on the conference site. The sponsorship from the exhibiting suppliers will create a win-win situation for suppliers and the conference planner. From the aspect of destination management, Taiwan can benefit by a concerted marketing effort that encourages convention delegates to extend their stays. Furthermore, the destination’s ability to maximize conferencerelated economic inputs can be enhanced by efficient planning of transportation and shopping arrangements.